And that's not the only time healers have got in there and mixed it in the
HW
games and demos I've run:
>* Desperately dodging the blows of an enraged Uroxi, who she is trying to
talk
>down from wreaking ill-advised havoc on the Asbornsons. No-one wants a
feud,
>after all...
I consider dodging to be a combat related skill. Not something that George Clooney would excel at in ER.
>* Facing down angry warriors from the dastardly Black Oak clan who are
intent
>on killing one of the clan's young warriors. "If you want him, you'll have
to
>go through me!"
Bit of an empty threat if she cannot do anything to stop them. But it does show how she probably wishes she could.
Yes, RP is obviously a very important part of RPGs. Using a shield well is also not as easy as it may seem e.g. see The Deed of Paksenarrion by Moon for details.
>Just because your character can't swing an axe or whatever at someone, it
>doesn't mean they can't do the action-adventure bit if that's what you're
>after.
The point is, why not be able to do both? It is not either/or. Even D&D has reasonable combat capabilities for clerics and they are still often seen as the most boring class to play. Heroes should be extraordinary people with a wide range of skills. Self-defense and the ability to use force when needed are just too useful in many situations. Combat need not be central to RPGs but they seem to always be a part of them in reality. I actually enjoy playing a cleric at high levels in D&D. Why? Because they have a ton of non-healing spells and this gives more options to game play. Combat only games bore me to tears, and there is no doubt that having a broad range of skills outside of combat adds a lot to any game. I can see how excorting cows across the tula might be fun for low powered characters, but when the group gets to best ability being w2 or so let me know how much fun the healer is having. I have often found that the 'class' makes much less difference at low 'levels' since everyone is so weak anyway.
Cheers!
A.K. Berner
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